A protester dressed as a death holds up pan during an opposition demonstration against of the devaluation of the currency in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. / Ariana Cubillos, AP

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Hundreds of government opponents demonstrated Saturday to demand answers about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's condition while he remains out of sight in a hospital, undergoing treatment more than 10 weeks after his latest cancer surgery.

Opposition leaders criticized the secrecy surrounding Chavez's diagnosis and treatment, saying many Venezuelans want the government to tell the whole truth about the president's condition.

"We came to say that this nation demands the truth," Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma said at the demonstration.

"Yesterday they were saying they had a five-hour meeting with the president. Nobody believes that. Just two days earlier they excused themselves with President Evo Morales (of Bolivia), saying the president was resting due to his delicate state of health, and they didn't let him see him," Ledezma added.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Friday night that he and other officials had a lengthy visit with the president at the military hospital in Caracas where he is being treated.

Chavez hasn't spoken publicly since before his Dec. 11 surgery, and has been seen only in several photographs released by the government.

Maduro said on television Saturday that Chavez remains in charge. "There is only one commander in chief here. There is only one president," he said.

He said Chavez has been considering policy decisions together with other government officials, including "economic actions" that he said would be detailed in the coming days.

The vice president said the government is confronting "the bourgeoisie's economic war" amid double-digit inflation and a currency that has continued to weaken in black market trading against the U.S. dollar. He criticized what he called an "attack on the currency," but didn't give details about the economic measures the government plans.

Opposition supporters at the protest also condemned the government's most recent economic measures, which have included a devaluation of Venezuela's currency, the bolivar.

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